Officers in Seong-dong, Seoul, stop an e-scooter rider near Seongsu Station in August during a crackdown targeting helmet violations and rider safety. (Newsis)
Officers in Seong-dong, Seoul, stop an e-scooter rider near Seongsu Station in August during a crackdown targeting helmet violations and rider safety. (Newsis)

Nearly all Seoul residents support expanding e-scooter-free streets across the city, a recent survey by the Seoul Metropolitan Government showed.

According to the survey, 98.4 percent of respondents said they were in favor of the policy, which restricts the use of electric scooters in designated areas.

In May, the city government designated the Hongdae Red Road in Mapo-gu and streets near after-school academies in Seocho-gu as “e-scooter-free streets,” banning their use between noon and 11 p.m.

The city surveyed 500 residents living near these areas in August. Among them, 69.2 percent said the streets felt safer for pedestrians, and 77.2 percent said the risk of collisions had decreased. In addition, 76.2 percent reported seeing fewer e-scooters in use, while 80.4 percent noticed a reduction in abandoned scooters.

Only 2.6 percent of respondents said they experienced any inconvenience due to the ban.

The findings come amid a rise in e-scooter-related accidents. Last year, a high school student fatally ran over a couple in their 60s in Ilsan, Gyeonggi Province. More recently, on Oct. 18, a mother in Incheon was left unconscious after pushing her 2-year-old out of the path of an e-scooter ridden by two middle schoolers.

Under the city’s policy, e-scooters, Segways and completely motor-driven bicycles are prohibited from traveling within the designated zones. Violators face a 30,000 won ($23) fine and 15 penalty points.


seungku99@heraldcorp.com